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Soccer in Citi Field?

Full disclaimer: FoC does not know soccer. When FoC was a cub sportswriter working for a piddly crap weekly newspaper, he covered college soccer not knowing what the hell he was looking at.

So I gotta ask: How is it possible for Citi Field to house a soccer team while the baseball season is going on? How can they possibly keep the field in shape for both sports.

Made zero sense to me until it dawned on me the Mets might be so hard up for revenue that they wouldn't mind sacrificing the well being of the playing field if it would mean another revenue stream in the form of rent money.

But like i said, i know nothing about soccer so maybe I'm way off base here. Can someone set me straight? What am I missing?

I am a big fan of soccer and a MLS supporter. I can tell you this with 100% certainty that there will never be an expansion team playing at Citi. The the number one priority of the league right now is having teams play in a soccer specific stadium (sss) and that is the first item that is looked at when it comes to a possible expansion team. Now I could potentially see a MLS team playing a couple games in Citi if the construction of a stadium is delayed for some reason, but there is ZERO chance of an MLS team calling Citi Field home

It would beat up the field some and I'm not sure how they would work around the infield. It didn't quite work when they had dual baseball/football stadiums. This would be similar.

It might increase the chances of the home team scoring however.

Ha!

But dont soccer and baseball play the same time of the year? How would the Mets possibly be able to schedule all their games around a soccer team and vice versa?

I just find it amazing the Mets are even considering such a thing, let alone requesting it, regardless of whether it actually happens. Can they have such little regard for their own team that they would volunteer to share their stadium mid season?

I find this ridiculous!

"Ain't got the call no more. Got a lot of sinful idears – but they seem kinda sensible...."

Well, they change the Garden from a basketball court to a hockey rink and back day after day, so I don't see why it would be impossible for a soccer game to go one when the Mets are on the road for a few days or a week.

The Daily News reports Mets owners would like to see an expansion Major League Soccer team play at Citi Field. However, a league spokesman said MLS is uninterested in that plan. The league has been pursuing a new stadium at nearby Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, although there has been some opposition from groups against using parkland for the project.

The rekindled Cosmos, currently set to begin playing in the NASL at Hofstra in the fall, would be a strong candidate to move up to MLS and play in any Queens stadium.

“An MLS team at Citi Field is a nonstarter for us,” MLS spokesperson Rita Heller told the newspaper. “A soccer stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is a win for soccer fans, a win for the Queens community and a win for economic development.”

Yeah, at most, the MLS plays twice a week. There would be some damage to the field, but not a lot.

I agree with Oshman though, the MLS doesn't want this. They want SSS. It is all about building the fan experience, the culture of soccer in USA, and making the US more attractive to the World Cup.

Having SSS in the big cities on the east coast would be a major asset in a World Cup bid. They already have them in New Jersey, Philly, and New England (technically not SSS, but Kraft built it with soccer in mind as well). They also have them in Chicago and Columbus with a new stadium being built in DC soon.

Yeah, at most, the MLS plays twice a week. There would be some damage to the field, but not a lot.

I agree with Oshman though, the MLS doesn't want this. They want SSS. It is all about building the fan experience, the culture of soccer in USA, and making the US more attractive to the World Cup.

Having SSS in the big cities on the east coast would be a major asset in a World Cup bid. They already have them in New Jersey, Philly, and New England (technically not SSS, but Kraft built it with soccer in mind as well). They also have them in Chicago and Columbus with a new stadium being built in DC soon.

Unfortunately the SSS's that have been and are being built will not be a factor in any type of World Cup bid. I believe the minimum capacity for any World Cup site is at least in the 40,000 range while all of these SSS's have a max capacity around 20-25k. However, the first part of your post is 110% correct.